When several provinces and cities in rebellion against Philip II of Spain declared themselves independent in 1581 with the Act of Abjuration, they initially aspired to appoint another prince as head of state.

After the Peace of Westphalia, the parts of these provinces that remained in the Dutch Republic's hands, as well as several other border territories, became confederally governed Generality Lands (Generaliteitslanden).

However, in practice they had to take into account the opinions of the man on the street (de gemeente Dutch), moreso than in the monarchies of the time, otherwise they ran the risk of being dislodged by political upheavals, like the Orangist revolutions of 1672 and 1747 and the Patriot revolt of 1785.

This was true in the past also, and is due to the predominance of the province of Holland in population, resources and industry north of the great river estuaries of the Rhine and the Meuse (Dutch: Maas).

[5]: 277  (see also Northwestern Regional Center and Amsterdam-region) The Dutch Revolt removed the counterweights that had historically kept Holland in check from the fifteenth century: the relatively more prosperous commerce of Flanders and Brabant/Antwerp and the centralising tendencies of the Burgundian and Habsburg rulers.

Meetings were held around a large conference table in the Binnenhof (the former palace of the counts of Holland), in The Hague, which was a central location and allowed easy travel back and forth to the other provinces.

Given this weak executive structure, and the necessity to refer business for detailed review, the proceedings were often dominated by the Councillor Pensionary of Holland as the representative of the largest province, as well as the most well informed and prepared official.

On 14 June 1597 the States-General, approved a proposal in which the foundation of a Generaliteitscollege was decided upon; this replaced an earlier navy board, the Collegie Superintendent, of which Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange (Admiral-General since 1588) had been the head, but which had been dissolved in 1593 as a result of disputes between the provinces.

However, when the distribution of the population is considered along with the fact that Holland possessed the bulk of the Republic's commerce, trade, banking, and fertile land, she may have been undertaxed (see the tax reform passed by the States General in 1792.).

[9] They increased the members of the assembly from the original six large cities (Dordrecht, Haarlem, Delft, Leiden, Gouda, and Amsterdam) plus the ridderschap to represent the countryside to fourteen, granting voting rights to Rotterdam, Alkmaar, Enkhuizen, Hoorn, Schoonhoven, Gorcum, Brill and Schiedam.

A major institutional change from previous practice was introduced in 1585 when the main executive functions of Holland started to be carried out by the Gecommitteerde Raden, usually translated as "Delegated Councillors".

This is because of this long tenure (originally for life, then five years and frequently re-elected), his attendance on all the committees and assemblies of importance of the province, his possession of a staff with a budget that could formulate their business (resolutions, correspondence, etc.)

These United Provinces were struggling to adapt existing feudal concepts and institutions to the new situation and tended to be conservative in this matter, as they had after all rebelled against the king to defend their ancient rights.

Although the institutions of the Dutch Republic became more republican and entrenched as time went on, William the Silent had been offered the countship of Holland and Zeeland, and only his assassination prevented his accession to those offices.

***Wilhem van Citters resigned from this position in 1767 because he disagreed with the centralist view of the Duke of Brunswick regarding direct appointments by the First Noble himself, which significantly limited the power of the Representative.

[3]: 137 [5]: pp.282 Guelders' States included delegates from Arnhem, Den Bommel, Doesburg, Elburg, Groenlo, Hardewijk, Hattern, Lochem, Nijmegen, and the Nobility, which was very numerous there.

As noted above, this lack of delegation of sovereignty led to a fair degree of inertia and would have been unworkable in a larger country less well connected with transport (albeit waterborne canals and shipping) links.

[1] : 30–38 [3]: 93, 99–102  · The government of the city was from a very early time in the hands of four Burgomasters (Burgemeesters in Dutch, but better translated to English as "mayors"), largely for the same reason that Rome had two consuls: deconcentration of power.

[2]: 65–74 [3]: 95 The members of the four colleges above that constituted the city government were dominated by a relatively small group of rich merchant, financial or land-owning families, many closely interrelated, called the "regents", or regenten.

A son of family belonging to the regent class there opened up an equivalent of the Roman cursus honorum where he could show his talents and make the connections that would serve him and his city.

The faction even thought through an ideological justification of republicanism (the "True Freedom") that went against the contemporary European trend of monarchical absolutism, but previewed "modern" political ideas that eventually found their fullest expression in the American and French constitutions of the 18th century.

The republicans attempted to rule this out by constitutional prohibitions, like the Act of Seclusion, but were eventually unsuccessful in the crisis of the Rampjaar (Year of Disaster) of 1672, that brought about the fall of the De Witt-regime.

Next Holland proposed in the States General that a so-called Great Assembly (a kind of constitutional convention) should be convened at short notice, to amend the Union of Utrecht.

[7]: 97 Behind the theological debate of the Remonstrant–Counter-Remonstrant clash lay a political one between Prince Maurice, a strong military leader, and his former mentor Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, Land's Advocate of Holland and personification of civil power.

As also noted above, the faction even thought through, at least during De Witt's time, an ideological justification of republicanism Ware Vrijheid (the "True Freedom") that went against the contemporary European trend of monarchical absolutism.

De Witt considered Princes and Potentates as such, as detrimental to the public good, because of their inherent tendency to waste tax payers' money on military adventures in search of glory and useless territorial aggrandisement.

De la Court identified free competition and the republican form of government as the leading factors contributing to the wealth and power of his home country.

Their adherence to the Prince of Orange's dynastic interest was partly a matter of personal advancement, as many Orangist regents resented being ousted from the offices they had monopolized under the Stadtholderate.

Given the prevalence of dangers from floods, the Lord was seen as having placed the protection of the Dutch people from inundation, both physical and metaphysical religious terms in the hands of the Princes of Orange.

However, the Dutch Republic, as cited in the Federalist papers by Hamilton, provided an example to be avoided of not allowing the (Con)Federal national government sufficient power to carry out its duties, collect its revenue, and come to decisions in a timely manner as set down in law.